They not only survived but prospered.
Burning releases energy. The aerobes had discovered a new energy source! Aerobes could get
more energy out of their food than anaerobes, and they
quickly became the commonest bacteria. So oxygen
became a help instead of a poison.

A cell obtains energy by respiration

The burning process is called respiration.
If you compare this diagram with the one for photosynthesis you should see that the energy which is released by respiration had
originally come from the Sun. This is why the Sun is
so very important for life. It supplies almost all
the energy used by living things, whether bacteria, plants or animals.